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Title: Analysis of the lactoferrin receptor in Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Advisor: Dr. Fred Sparling - Sponsor: Dr. Ann Matthysse)
Chad Scarboro The pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) is an obligate human pathogen requiring iron among other things for survival. Iron is found inside the human body bound to lactoferrin, transferrin, hemoglobin, heme, and other molecules. Neisseria have evolved outer membrane proteins that act as receptors that are specific to these human proteins. These receptors consist of an integral outer membrane protein, or a gated pore, and a lipoprotein. The integral outer membrane protein is required for iron to pass into the cell, and the lipoprotein is also required for function of the hemoglobin and transferrin receptor. The lactoferrin receptor is only produced in 50% of naturally occurring strains due to point mutations in lbpB or lbpA, translational frame shifting in lbpB, or a deletion of lbpBA. My research examines the presence of a lactoferrin receptor in clinical isolates of Neisseria, and more specifically, the presence of the lipoprotein component of the receptor, LbpB, as well as the lpbBA deletion. |
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